I don't always do nosy question threads, but when I do, they are HOLY CRAP EXPENSIVE because you all read all the interesting books and then tell me about them.
I'm reading a few books concurrently – I call this “buffeting” my books, like I'm at the biggest all you can eat buffet and I can't just pick one thing. It's usually a sign that I'm stressed and easily distracted, but for now, it's working for me.
I'm reading a nonfiction book about inflammation and dietary response (WOO FUN) and Edith Layton's Tempting the Bride. Those two things are not the same at all. But Elyse is totally right about her books being wonderfully welcoming comfort reads.
So, whatcha reading? Any books that you'd recommend to others? What books are making your brain happy right now?
Do to real life I’ve only just finished The Winter Sea last night. It was killing me not having the time to just sit and finish it in one go. I loved this book and have to thank SB again for introducing me to Susanna Kearsley. One more A level book from her and I may have to declare her my author soul mate.
I’m going to make another dent in Under the Dome, if it kicks in for me I’ll work on that for a while.
If not I’ll have to decide if I want to try finishing a book I started the last time I was this stressed, putting -Touch Not the Cat, The Iron Duke, and Dagger Star (Mary Stewart, Meljean Brooks, and Elizabeth Vaughan respectively) in the running- or start a new book that may be more forgiving on the attention span. John Scalzi’s Redshirts has made its way back to the top of the pile again or maybe a YA.
One book that I just ordered that I’m super excited to get my hands on is A Journey Into Michelangelo’s Rome, by Angela K Nickerson.
@Germaine, “a series of sex scenes in search of a plot” the best funny description I’ve read of what goes on in too many books!
Currently reading a free book: The India Fan by Victoria Holt. Although I believe it is technically listed as a romance, I would probably call it a historical fiction. I haven’t read any of Holt’s books in such an incredibly long time.
Celebromancy by Michael Underwood. I read Geekomancy last week (I’m not sure, but I think I found it on sale here). It had some flaws, but it was good enough to keep me going.
vN by Madeline Ashby is next up on my to-read list. It’s still for sale on Barnes & Noble and Amazon, I think. If I like it the sequel, iD will be next.
I really like this author’s short stories so I’m excited to see what her novels will be like. I think she’s one of the best new science fiction authors I’ve seen in recent years.
I’m sure I speak for many people when I say that I just bought vN (for $1.39!) based on the strength and insanity of that blurb. Thanks, @gloria!
I’m reading Nicholas by Grace Burrowes. It has some very touching scenes, including the hero slipping the heroine gold sovereigns each time they met in case she needed to escape her bad situation when he wasn’t there.
I’m also reading Romancing Lady Stone by Delilah Marvelle. It features a 40-year-old heroine and is very interesting so far.
On the elliptical I’ve been listening to Jeannie Lin’s The Lotus Palace. After buying it on Amazon I couldn’t resist adding the audio book for a few dollars more and what a great purchase! It makes the time pass so much more quickly!
I’m reading “The Cad” by Edith Layton in paperback. Decided I had to take a break from historicals and just finished a contemporary m/m romance called “Duty and Devotion” by Tere Michaels – it’s the third book in a series (second one featuring Evan and Matt as the main couple). I find that both books and the novella with these two are comfort reads for me – I have no problem going back and reading them over and over, which is nice. That rarely happens for me. My goal is to have Tere sign my paperback copies of “Faith and Fidelity” and “Duty and Devotion”. ^_^
kkw: Which Kearsley are you putting off? I adored “The Winter Sea”, loved “Mariana”, and had a rather tepid reaction to “The Rose Garden”. I have “The Splendour Falls” in progress for the last three weeks, lol, but I think that’s due to book ADD in general (I’ve had a hard time focusing on anything the last couple of months), not the book itself.
StarOpal: Rumor has it that “The Firebird” is an A-grade book from Kearsley. The whole premise of “The Shadowy Horses” intrigues me, and there’s something very enjoyable about “Mariana” (if also a bit creepy and “eeek!” in some parts, lol).
I also have just read the latest Ben Aaronovich and Do or Die. I’m not sure what to say about them – they were both a bit disappointing. Will be grabbing teh new Ann Bishop. I loved and reread written in red.
Have been glomming Amy Lane, who writes wonderful, intense m/m – although a surprising amount of babies have been turning up in them. Babies aren’t really my thing. Will follow up on Tere Michaels.
As a 34 yr old with arthritis I’d love to know what the inflammation book is LOL. As a single 34 yr old woman I’m reading Charles Bukowski’s collection “Love is a Dog From Hell” in honor Valentine’s Day.
Des Livres: No babies in Tere’s books, but there are plot moppets – Evan is a widower with four children. I loathe babies in books (and I don’t like them much in person, either), and generally feel the same about kids in books. However, I feel like Evan’s kids add a depth of realism to the relationship between Evan and Matt. Miranda, his eldest, gets really annoying in the novella, but you can overlook that (or skip the novella altogether, since she’s at her most obnoxious and self-centered in it).
I have an absolute weakness for an excellent “Gay for you” story, and I’ve found Evan and Matt to be one of the best out there. It’s definitely sexy, but there’s a level of emotional satisfaction in those books that I rarely find in ANY book.
I’m not reading anything tonight, though. I’m doing a marathon viewing of the new keepsake edition of the BBC Ehle/Firth “Pride and Prejudice”.
You guys should review this dvd! They put some new featurettes in, as well as all of the ones from earlier dvds, and the DVD cover art is gorgeous. I just want to stare at it. LOL
@Cordy, that makes me so happy to hear! I hope you enjoy it.
I forgot to mention that I was finishing up with the Psy/Changeling series, I really like them and can’t wait for Vasic’s story. I also have several books by Jeanie Lin checked out from the library so I’ll probably read those before vN—or rather I’ll read them at home and read vN at work (since I can read my iphone to my heart’s content, but not a paperback book lol)
Lord, what is it with plot moppets!? I won’t necessarily avoid a book if there’s a kid in it, (well I do sometimes) but I don’t get the obseesion. I DNF’d a Mary Balogh, with 20, count’m 20, boys and girls. Looking forward to checking Tere out.
Kathryn Le Veque is a new-to-me author and I am becoming addicted to her books!! I just finished The Wolfe, an epic medieval romance. Fan-freaking-tasic story and characters!!!
@laj, I felt the same way about the Cat and Bones books when I read the first one – the violence was a little off putting. But I fell so head over heels in love with Bones it quickly became a non-issue for me.
@ Cordy, sounds like I’d like First to Burn, Anna Richland, too. I had added it to my Wish List after a visit to her web page after the discussion of As Hot As It Gets.
I am reading Love, Chocolate and Beer by Violet Duke, which has a Valentine’s theme. The “extended foreplay” by the main couple is cute. The chocolate flavors described had me buying meh chocolate at the grocery store this evening, as Mr. L did not come through with the good stuff yesterday. 🙂
I think next up will be a historical, and I also have an Edith Layton on hand. I bought His Dark and Dangerous Ways at the book exchange today and A Certain Latitude by Janet Mullany online last night. I think the Janey Mullany book may be naughtier.
Envy those of you who can read a “buffet” of books ….
Heather S> The Shadowy Horses was my first Kearsley and I liked it even better than Winter Sea (I have a soft spot for the Legio IX Hispana). I have Splendor Falls on order. Thanks for the recs! Mariana sounded intriguing, I think that’ll be the next one I get.
@Cordy: Thank you SO MUCH for your thoughts on The 9th Orb, that has been sitting on my eReaderIQ pricewatch for almost a year and I have kept considering it for the premise. I haven’t been able to find a helpful review of it to save my life, and the negative reviews (“Too much science description”) made me leaning towards buying, but it’s been too pricey for a new-to-me author.
I laughed out loud at “She hasn’t thought this through”.
I just finished Bear Naked by Dana Marie Bell and was disappointed. This was the third book in the series and it does not stand alone at all. I’ve read the previous books (but did not do a re-read) and my head was spinning with names that I couldn’t place and events that I was vague about. Whilst I don’t enjoy books having major info’ dumps I think this book would have greatly benefitted from having a character discuss / remember past events just to let readers catch up or have their memories jogged.
I’m not sure what’s up next. I bought of some of the books on sale mentioned here in the last week so I might read about some Regency rakes for a change of pace or dive in to my TBR pile.
@LauraL: I just finished reading First To Burn – overall, I did like it, but I am not a paranormal reader, and it goes very paranormal/suspense-y after the first third. It’s well-done, though, and better prose than a lot of the contemporary stuff I’ve been reading.
@Lindsay: I don’t know if it helps, but here’s my goodreads review of the 9th Orb: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/854995350
(Which I guess basically comes down to “This does not live up to the intriguing concept” – I was expecting something more… I’m not sure. Something a lot more interesting that really delved into the ideas of an all-female colony colliding with a weird all-male hive colony. Instead it’s kind of mediocre SF until the group marriage sexytimes that were not my jam.)
School’s in again, so it’s mostly textbooks here, although one of my classes is going to allow for a steady diet of YA this semester. Not all romance, but here’s a few recent highlights: Judy Blume’s Forever . . . (ellipses must be included, as they abound in this book) and David Levithan’s Every Day.
Had never read Forever . . . (amazingly) and I found it to be a pretty quick little slice of bittersweet teen lurve. Judy Blume can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes. I loved the heck out of Every Day. Unconventional love story plus diverse portrayals of teen life equals a book I recommend.
Onwards to The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (Holly Black) and Across the Universe (Beth Revis)!
@Cordy Lisa Kleypas’s Devil In Winter is most definitely on my keeper shelf! LOOOOVE that book
@DonnaMarie Jasmine Haynes is a new to me author and I’m adoring her voice so far. The hero and heroine in The Only Way out, the first in the Mine Until Morning anthology have not even kissed yet and I already want to spread Mac Dawson on a cracker and gobble him up. Sweet. Baby. Jesus!
Thank you for recommending “Sense and Sensibility: The Screen Play and Diaries of Emma Thompson”. I’m enjoying it enormously and I will definitely be passing my copy around my friends.
@Cordy-40. If you are looking for some well-written BDSM/Dom/Sub books without a BDSM club theme, I like Annabel Joseph’s books. The Comfort Series, the Ballet Series, the Cirque Masters series are not tied to a BDSM club. The Mephisto series is the exception. (Command Performance does begin in a club but is out in the beginning of the book.)
http://annabeljoseph.com/#!/books-2
@LG- Not sure if this is what you mean, but have you read Bone Dance by Emma Bull? It’s not a romance; it was on the fantasy shelf when I bought it back in the day, but it’s really kind of a post-apocalyptic voodoo sci-fi tangle of awesomeness. Sparrow, the protagonist, is wonderful and, well, I can’t tell you what else, because that would give it away, but a lot of characters, male and female, try to figure out just who and what Sparrow is.
I recently had two six hour flights and read the mira grant Feed trilogy. I enjoyed the scientific basis for Zombies. I agree with the comments above not a romance. However the readability factor was very high. (Has anyone read Parasite? I am thinking of waiting until the series is complete but not sure.) I am also doing the buffet reading thing. I am trying the YA Across A STAR SWEPT SEA since I found the thought of a female Scarlett Pimpernel worth exploring. I am also concurrently re-reading Nalini Singh’s Psy Changer series. I am listening to the audio books on these. I like the reader. I also re-read the second half of Lisa Kleypas’ Sugar Daddy and Smooth Talking Stranger. I love a book with great dialogue in Smooth Talking Stranger . Does anyone have a recommendation for books that have great dialogue?
FYI, Mira Grant is a pseudonym for Seanan McGuire, if any Grant fans haven’t tried McGuire (and vice versa), series under both names are very good.
Half-off Ragnarok, the third book in McGuire’s Incryptid series, comes out in March.
@Jan – I don’t know, but I’m perfectly willing to read it and find out. Thanks, it’s on my “to read” list!
I’m in the middle of the new Karen Rose novel, Watch Your Back and waiting for the new J.D. Robb to come out this week. So much is out this month. Watch Your Back is pretty good, but it seems a bit slower romance wise than her other books.
There have been so many great new releases lately, and I’ve bought many of them. But I am holding off reading them because I’m going on vacation the first week of March and I plan to lounge about and read, read, read. I did break down and read Tessa Bailey’s latest, Staking His Claim. So good.
I have and am holding off until vacation to read the Marked anthology, Tessa Dare’s Romancing the Duke, Jaci Burton’s Melting the Ice, Kristen Callihan’s Shadowdance. Of course, I have many more loaded on my Kindle, but those are the ones I’m most looking forward to.
For now I’m just trying to finish up all my work commitments and pack, so not a lot of reading. And what I am reading is some self-published freebies from Amazon. Some okay, lots not so good. So looking forward to vacation and some good reading!
@kkw: Lascivious Bodies is now on my list! Thanks for this promising title.
Today I finished Aimee Bender’s An Invisible Sign of My Own: the romantic moments are fresh and wonderfully written.
Earlier this month, AAR asked readers to nominate “best of the best” YA romances, which launched me on a rediscovery of some lovely works: Barbara Cohen’s Unicorns in the Rain, Joan Lowery Nixon’s A Deadly Game of Magic, Andre Norton’s Year of the Unicorn.
I do the buffeting thing too. Right now I am currently in the process of reading Lisa Garnder’s Touch and Go, Edward Rutherfurd’s London, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and I am re-reading Julie Garwood’s The Secret. London will probably take me months to read, I love Rutherfurd’s book but they aren’t ones I read straight through, I always stop to read other things.
I am listening to Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford on Audio Book. I haven’t got much accomplished in the past few days because I was caught up in a House of Cards binge…
Just finished As Hot As It Gets by Elle Kennedy. Enjoyed it, but LOL at the comment above about the sex scenes in search of a plot.
I also usually have several books going at once. Usually something non-fiction, along with a romance and a mystery/thriller. Currently, I’m reading Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Stunk & White’s The Elements of Style, which is interesting and also funny. I just started Nightengale Wood by Stella Gibbons, which I am really enjoying and may keep reading. I’m about mid-way through Out of the Deep I Cry, by Julia Spencer-Fleming. I had to stop reading when we had the storm last week, because the book is also set in the winter and it was just too cold in reality to enjoy the descriptions of the cold in the Adirondacks. I’ll probably pick it back up when the weather gets warmer this week.
My recent reading has been of familiar authors with relatively new books. I picked up Jennifer Ashley’s latest The Wicked Deeds of Daniel Mackenzie. He’s a nephew since she finished up the sons. Some people are going to hate the heroine and her plight. If a woman victim is not your thing, don’t even bother picking this one up. The heroine, a con artist running seances, is an interesting wounded character who finally had to grow up emotionally beyond some terrible stuff (she does the holding it together stuff really well), and I adored how Daniel found the best in her and gently loved her until she grew strong enough to be his match. For those of you who loved Ian and want to see more of him, he’s an important secondary character in this novel. I loved Ian even more.
I got to the end and found I had missed another Jennifer Ashley book, The Seduction of Elliot McBride. The title is so wrong for this book. Elliot is so into the heroine, but in this one he’s the wounded character (PTSD) who has to heal. And as he heals, the love between Julianna and Elliot grows as they talk, yes, talk to each other about difficult things. It’s not a five star book but probably a four star one if I were to do an Amazon review.
The new Cathy Maxwell books doesn’t have a single paranormal element in it. The Bride Says No is a complex sister story, where at the beginning it’s not clear who is the heroine and who is the hero. It’s clear there’s a HEA at the end, but there’s also broken hearts, broken feelings, broken engagements. It left me with mixed feelings—interesting story that kept my attenation but it also felt like a definitive hook for the second book in the series which was not quite as satisfying.
I’ve been doing some research on ancient Egypt. Does anyone know of romances set in ancient Egypt? That would put a fun twist on my research!
I just finished The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins (super fun), now reading To Wed a Stranger by Edith Layton—all based on recommendations from you all. Thanks guys!
@Cordy – thanks for the laugh! I’ve now put Devil in Winter on my to read list.
@ Kris Bock – not necessarily a romance (there is a romance but it isn’t the main plot) but Suzanne Frank has a series that has a modern woman ending up in ancient Egypt. I think I only read the first two but I did really like them. Of course it was LONG ago that I read them so they may have been crap. No telling.
I haven’t read a bunch of romance lately, been on a scifi kick (Rachel Bach’s Fortune’s Pawn is excellent as well as Ancillary Justice) but the best romance I’ve read in some time was One Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean.
I’m currently reading Miss Cayley’s Adventures by Grant Allen which is a hoot. I’m also listening to the audio of the second in Celine Kiernan’s Moorehawke trilogy which is also excellent.
Next up is some UF in the form of book two in Benedict Jacka’s Alex Verus series.
I tend to read just two books at a time – one in audio for my commute and one either in paper form or on my kindle. Any more than that means one of them is not doing it for me and I pass over it – or, less likely, I’ve left a paper book somewhere that I can’t get to it and I read something to tide me over. But yes, I definitely go for comfort reads and sweet romances when I’m stressed – they make me smile which is always a plus when you are stressed.
@Kris Old Egypt romance – Lady of the Upper Kingdom by Merline Lovelace. Have not read it yet but it looks interesting and resides in my TBR.
I’m definitely in the middle of a book buffet right now. In audiobooks it is Julie James Something About You, having just finished Unbound by Cara McKenna (bought it from a previous SB post re:tantor audiobook sales and I absolutely loved it) and Beautiful Bombshell (I listen to audiobooks while running, doing laundry, household chores etc). In actual ebooks it is After Hours by Cara McKenna (which I bought after listening to Unbound); Tabby’s Chaos story (can’t remember the exact title) from Kristen Ashley; Lauren Dane’s second book in the Brown siblings series; Travis by Nicole Edwards, and I just bought 10 HQN books from their site on Valentine’s day with a 40%off sale (code SWNB214 until Feb 17), so I have Meg Maguire (aka Cara McKenna) and Samantha Hunter on deck – along with about 500 other books on my TBR list! I find I have so many books to read that I start more than one at a time, and then read whichever one I’m in the mood for (and if I’m at work, some with less naughty bits!). For several months last year it was only historicals (Joanna Bourne, Sarah Maclean Karen Hawkins and so forth), now I seem to be on an only contemporary theme, and likely by the end of the year I’ll be back in a thriller/espionage mode. But for February, it’s all about the love 🙂